Russia to ignore US pressure, continue arms supplies to India

Russia has reaffirmed its commitment to
maintain defence supplies to India despite pressure from the United
States to scale down the level of Indo-Russian defence
collaboration, the Voice of Russia has said .

In its comment on the forthcoming visit of an Indian defence
delegation to Moscow, the Voice of Russia radio network said the Kremlin will go ahead with
an agreement regarding the supply of ten new Su-10 fighter planes,
new generation of submarines and high-tech missiles to India, the
US pressure not to do so notwithstanding. It disclosed Russia's
willingness to assist India in the production of anti-missile
weaponry.

The delegation, which arrives in Moscow next week, will include
senior officers from all three wings of the Indian armed forces, the
VoR disclosed .

This is the first time that Russia has confessed to being
pressurised by the US to reduce the level of Indo-US defence
cooperation. Earlier, Russia had denied that US President Bill
Clinton had raised the issue during the US-Russia summit in Moscow
in early September.

While referring to the various anti-India measures adopted by the
US in the post-Pokhran era, such as suspension of credit and the
refusal to provide high technology to India, VoR said US
pressure on Russia to scale down its defence co-operation with India
was actually aimed at pushing out Russia from the Asian arms markets
so that the American weapon manufacturers could fill the vacuum .

''All US attempts in this regard are futile and Moscow will
continue vigorously to co-operate with India in the defence field as
in the other fields for the mutual benefit of both countries,'' VoR quoted Kremlin sources as saying.

VoR said the drafts of the agreement regarding defence
supplies to India, which were prepared during another Indian defence
delegation's visit to Moscow in the summer, will be given
final touches during the Indo-Russian talks next week .

The final draft of the agreement for Indo-Russian defence
collaboration is expected to be signed by Russian President Boris
Yeltsin during his visit to New Delhi in the first week of December,
VoR said. The agreement will cover the period till 2010, it
said.